Should I do track work? I get this question with some frequency. And yes, there are reasons to do it. But your goals and/or your coach should dictate whether you give it a shot.
Track work is useful in that it helps us understand pacing. It allows us to feel what it's like to pace ourselves to hit a particular split time for a particular set of intervals.
For example, I have two clients who have run about four marathons apiece. They decided to take this fall off from marathoning and work a little more on their speed. So I have them at the track at least every other week, as a part of a larger training program.
They do fartleks (a Swedish word which means "speedplay"), which are timed increases of speed, usually with equal rest on the road, during a long run. They also do tempo work, progression runs and longer runs for endurance, as part of a complete plan.
But when they started doing shorter races, they found they were having a hard time pacing themselves. They'd take off too fast in some races, too slowly in others. And yes, learning how to pace yourself is a matter of experience and getting practice doing it in a race environment, but it also can be aided by working on the track. Again, hitting consistent, pre-calculated splits will teach you how much is enough and how much is too much with regard to pacing.
For example, the week before a 5k I will sometimes send these runners out to do 200-meter runs (half the distance of a regulation 400-meter track). This will involve a warm up, some strides to turn over the legs and get them ready for the harder work, then the intervals themselves. For instance, I'll have them run 200 meters at a brisk pace followed by a 200-meter jog rest. They'll do this eight times.
The goal is consistency. If you take off too hard, you might run the first 200 so fast that you are unable to get the remaining segments even in the ballpark of the initial one. If you reach the end of the set and run your last one hard and it is significantly faster than your others -- you've gone too easy.
Say I have given the client a goal of 42 seconds per interval, they should get between 40 and 44 for the set. Sometimes it takes a few sprints to get going or to settle in. So you need a little leeway. But not a lot...
We work different distances for different goals. My marathoners will generally be doing mile repeats, 800's, etc... or segments of 2-mile repeats. My 5k/10k clients will spend more time running shorter intervals, like 200s and 400s. We use this kind of work for what we call the "top end" or the VO2 max. That is the point just under where we cross into anaerobic work and working in that area not only allows increased footspeed and turnover but an ability, when worked as part of a larger training macrocycle, to keep speed in the body and sustain it without flipping over the line and going anaerobic.
Always warm up properly and cooldown properly. Make sure you recover between the segments, depending on the work you are doing. Always check with your doctor before starting any kind of work that taxes the body. And use proper running form (hips tucked under you, legs striding under the carriage of the body, arms relaxed and coming up to the centerline of the body, but not crossing it, and landing on the midfoot and rolling to the toe to pushoff). If you are new to the track, start small. Don't take on a huge set of work the first time out. That's a good way to get injured. You need to build up to this carefully and with forethought.
I am usually at the track at least twice a month. It is a tool I use for myself, and it allows me to assess where I am, where I need to go and how I need to get there.
Tags: Fitness Training Track
